Monroe corrections officer charged with assaults against wife

MONROE — An emergency room nurse told Monroe police officers it was one of the worst abuse cases he’d ever seen.

The patient, the wife of a Monroe corrections officer, was bruised from “her nose to her toes” when police brought her to the hospital last month.

The woman told officers that her husband, Dallen Brown, had punched her in the face and jabbed her in the ribs with his handgun. She told officers the abuse had been going on for years. She detailed incidents when she was choked, kneed in the stomach, kicked and punched. The woman told officers that Brown had held a gun to her and told her “shape up,” court papers said.

Brown, 27, was arrested last month. His wife had called a relative to ask that she come pick up the couple’s children. The woman and her children were found hiding in an alley down the street.

The woman had a black eye and bruises along her stomach. The relative called 911.

Brown was charged Friday in Snohomish County Superior Court with three counts of second-degree domestic violence assault. Prosecutors allege that the assaults were committed under aggravating circumstances because they happened in front of the couple’s children and over a prolonged period of time.

That opens the door for more prison time if Brown is convicted.

Brown is locked up in the county jail, his bail set at $50,000. He remains an employee of the state Department of Corrections, spokesman Chad Lewis said. Superintendent Scott Frakes will make a decision on what action to take when Brown reports to work, Lewis wrote in an e-mail earlier this month.

Brown came into the Monroe Police Department asking about his wife and children the day after she was taken to the hospital.

He reportedly said he and his wife had been in some fights. His said his wife attacked him first in each instance.

Brown allegedly told officers that he punched his wife in the face in self-defense.

“He said that he used a ‘hammer-fist’ strike in keeping with his defense tactics training from the prison, and that it was ‘just a natural, instinctive thing,’ ” according to court papers.

Brown reportedly told investigators that he usually used a choke-hold to get his wife to calm down.

He told police that his wife was to blame for the violence in their relationship. He allegedly explained that she insulted him and “knew how to push his buttons,” Baldock wrote in charging documents.

Investigators spoke with the couple’s children who said they’d seen their parents fighting. They also collected a voice mail message the 6-year-old left with a relative last month.

“My mom and dad are fighting. My mom is going to get killed if you don’t answer so please call. They’re fighting right now,” the girl said.

Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.